Leipzig
[] (
Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the Federal State (
Bundesland) of
Saxony in
Germany. The name is derived from the Slavic word (see
Sorbian)
Lipsk (= "settlement where the
linden trees stand"). It is situated at the confluence of the Rivers
Pleiße,
White Elster and
Parthe. Leipzig has a population of 502,000. In 2006, it was found to be Europe's cheapest city.
[http://www.citymayors.com/features/cost_survey.html]First documented in
1015, and endowed with city and market privileges in
1165, the
city of Leipzig has fundamentally shaped the history of Saxony and of Germany. Leipzig has always been known as a place of commerce. The
Leipzig Trade Fair, which began in the middle ages, became an event of international importance; especially as a point of contact to the East-European economic bloc (
Comecon) of which
East Germany was a member.
The foundation of the
University of Leipzig in
1409 initiated the city's development into a center of German law and the publishing industry, and towards being a location of the Reichsgericht (Supreme Court), and the
German National Library (founded in
1912).
Johann Sebastian Bach worked in Leipzig from
1723 to
1750, at the
St. Thomas Lutheran church, and
Richard Wagner, the composer, was born in Leipzig in
1813. Later in the same year, the Leipzig region was the arena of the
Battle of the Nations. In 1913 a monument, the
Völkerschlachtdenkmal, celebrating the hundred year anniversary of this event was finished.
The importance of the Trade Fair and the University to the creation of a vibrant urban life and city politics from the Reformation through the Nineteenth Century cannot be underestimated. Leipzig became a center of the German and Saxon liberal movements.
Having been a terminal of the first German long distance
railroad (
1839, to
Dresden, the capital of Saxony), Leipzig became a hub of Central-European railroad traffic, with a renowned station building, now the largest
terminal station (by area) in Europe. Leipzig expanded rapidly towards one million inhabitants. Huge
Gründerzeit areas were built, which survived, for the greater part, the War and after war demolitions. Nowadays these areas are unique in modern Germany. The decline of the number of inhabitants however remain a threat to these precious rich decorated remains of once Imperial Germany.
Source: PressThe first German
labour party, the
General German Workers' Association (in German
Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein, ADAV) was founded in Leipzig on
23 May 1863 by
Ferdinand Lassalle; about 600 workers from across Germany travelled to it using the new railway line.
Nobel Prize laureate
Werner Heisenberg worked as a physics professor at
Leipzig University from
1927 to
1942.
 |
Leipzig central train station (2002), as seen from the top of the City-High-Rise-Building |
On November 9, 1938, on a night now known as
Kristallnacht,
Nazis in Leipzig destroyed
Jewish synagogues and establishments in Leipzig as they did all over
Germany. An U.S. official in Leipzig described what he saw of the atrocities. "Having demolished dwellings and hurled most of the moveable effects to the streets," he wrote, "the insatiably sadistic perpetrators threw many of the trembling inmates into a small stream that flows through the zoological park, commanding horrified spectators to spit at them, defile them with mud and jeer at their plight."
The city was heavily damaged by
Allied bombing during
World War II.
American troops of the 69th Infantry Division captured the city on
April 20 1945,
Adolf Hitler's 56th and final birthday. The
U.S. later ceded the city to the
Red Army, and it became one of the major cities of the
German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
In
1989, after
prayers for
peace at the
Nikolai Church (established in 1983 as part of the peace-movement), the
Monday demonstrations started as the most prominent mass protest against the East German regime. Leipzig was also the German candidate for the
2012 Summer Olympics, but didn't make it into the final list of bidders.
Leipzig was the venue for the
FIFA 2006 World Cup draw, and has hosted four of the First Round Group matches and one 1/8 Final Match.
Mein Leipzig lob' ich mir! Es ist ein klein Paris und bildet seine Leute. (I praise my Leipzig! It is a small Paris and educates its people.) -
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in
Faust*
City-Hochhaus Leipzig |
City-Hochhaus Leipzig, built for the university in 1972, is the tallest building in the city |
*
Städtisches Kaufhaus (English: Municipal Store - name is misleading, world's first sample fair building, today home to offices, retail and restaurants)
*
Völkerschlachtdenkmal (English: Battle Of The Nations Monument)
*
Gewandhaus (English: Cloth Hall or garb-house - name is misleading, as today's third Gewandhaus is home to the Gewandhaus orchestra, also see history of
Städtisches Kaufhaus)
Leipzig is
twinned with:
*
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia since 2004
*
Birmingham,
England (
Birmingham's Partner City page) since 1992
*
Bologna,
Italy since 1962, renewed in 1997
*
Brno,
Czech Republic since 1973, renewed in 1999
*
Frankfurt am Main,
Germany since 1990
*
Hanover,
Germany since 1987
*
Houston,
Texas,
USA since 1993
*
Kiev,
Ukraine since 1961, renewed in 1992
*
Kraków,
Poland since 1973, renewed in 1995
*
Lyon,
France since 1981
*
Nanjing,
China since 1988
*
Thessaloniki,
Greece since 1984
*
Travnik,
Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2003
Besides the Völkerschlachtdenkmal mentioned above, among Leipzig's noteworthy institutions there are also the
Gewandhaus Orchestra, the opera house,
Oper Leipzig, and the
Leipzig Zoo, which houses the world's largest facilities for
primates. Additionally, Leipzig has an international trade fair ground in the north of the city with the world's largest levitated glass hall. (
Leipzig Trade Fair) Further you can find the Nikolaikirche (Church of St. Nikolai or Nicholas), which was a starting point of peaceful demonstrations for the reunification of Germany.
*
Wave Gotik Treffen at
Pentecost*Bachfest (Festival about
Johann Sebastian Bach)
*Stadtfest (city festival)
*Christmas market since 1767
*Honky Tonk (live music festival in over 100 pubs)
*
Games Convention*
Leipzig/Halle Airport*
Altenburg-Nobitz Airport*
List of mayors of Leipzig* The city's official website: http://www.leipzig.de/int/en/
* Gallery of Leipzig photos: http://www.leipzig-picture.com/
*
Leipzig Zoo at Zoo-Infos.de (in English)* Leipzig links in the Open Directory Project (DMOZ): http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/Germany/States/Saxony/Localities/Leipzig/
